Adventures in Craigslisting

This week we have had "Auntie V" staying with us. For those of you in blogland who have been following our story over the summer, Aunt Victoria is one of the fabulous aunts who came to Austin for a week in July to help unpack and decorate the house. She is amazing. After moving, we have a lot of things that we no longer need. Aunt Victoria has been helping me to rid the garage of many of these items. Over the past couple of days, I have listed several things for sale on Craigslist. As people have come to the house to pick up items, it has been quite comical to see the different reactions to the babies. I wish that we could have had a hidden camera to capture them all. It usually goes something like this:

(I answer the door with a baby over my shoulder.)

Craigslist Person: "Oh, you have a baby! How sweet!"

(Craigslist person steps inside the door and looks around. They give a look of surprise and confusion.)

Craigslist Person: "Oh, you have lots of babies.....are these all (gulp) yours?"

Me: "Yes, we have quintuplets!"

Craigslist Person: "Quintup..oh wow...that's..."

Me: "Five"

Craigslist Person: "Oh!! …OH!!! Are you the ones???"

Me: "Yep, we are the ones."

(Craigslist person then proceeds to make several comments about the babies and eventually we complete the transaction and they leave.)

On the weekends, we have less outside help than on other days. Saturday evenings we typically take care of the babies by ourselves. Tonight the babies seemed to realize that we were a little shorthanded and decided to react by all screaming at the same time. Jayson, Aunt Victoria and I were all going from baby to baby, trying to console them, but we were having little success. At the same time, we were also trying to put Riley and Kaiya to bed. Right in the middle of all the chaos, a very nice gal named Amanda showed up to look at the TV we had posted on Craigslist. After the initial shock and questions (see above dialog), she asked if she could bring in her mother who was waiting in the car because she just "had to see this".

When Amanda and her mom came back in, all five babies were screaming, so we passed out sanitizer and put them to work holding babies. With Jayson, Victoria, Amanda, Amanda's Mom, and myself each holding a baby, things finally started to settle down. It was at this moment that Kyndall, who was being held by Amanda's mom, had a major reflux moment. This was no small spit-up. This was a huge projectile, all-the-way-down-the-shirt throw-up. I felt awful about the whole thing. It is not everyday when your kid pukes on a complete stranger. (Amanda's mom: if you are reading this, I am so sorry about your clothes!!) At this point Amanda and her mom made a quick get-a-way, generously offering to find people to help us out with the babies. As we closed the door behind them, all five babies resumed crying at the top of their lungs. We decided there were only two options: laugh hysterically, or cry hysterically. We chose to laugh. We laughed for a long time. Then we thought of what Amanda and her mom were going to tell their family when they got home, and we laughed some more.

Eventually, we did get all the babies calmed down and peace was restored. Later, as I sat in the rocking chair holding two of my beautiful daughters, I was overcome by the awesome blessing I have been given. Despite the fact that there are "moments" (and I am sure I will have many more of those in my future), these babies are such a wonderful gift from God. They are so perfect and healthy. I have been amazed at how much my capacity to love has increased since they were born. Not only have I been given these five precious little ones, but I have also been blessed to have Riley and Kaiya, who have brought so much joy into my life.

A rare moment when all five babies are content!

(Clockwise, starting from the left: Kassidy, Rustin, Kaydence, Ryder & Kyndall)

Aunt Victoria holding Kaydence and Rustin.

On another note, this weekend, Riley (our 7-year-0ld) wrote, directed, starred in, and edited his very first video. The video was for a school project called "Reflections". The theme for this year was "I can make a difference by...." Riley's subject was "I can make a difference in my family by helping with the babies." Check out Jayson's blog (http://www.wilkinsonquints.org/blog/jaysonblog.html) to watch the video.

Adventures in Craigslisting